Hollywood Animal Hospital Hosted Career Day Today!

Our very own Dr. Irma, Vet Tech- Linda Ream, and Roscoe (our unofficial mascot and personal pet of Dr. Patterson), visited Hollywood Hills Elementary School today! Dr. Irma, spoke with five 2nd grade classes about why she chose to become a Veterinarian, what it's like, and how they too, could become Veterinarians. She also brought stethoscopes for the children to listen to Roscoe's heart and lungs, and left some for the teachers to hand out later! The children loved every second of it! 

Here are some photos of today's event! 

We would like to give a HUGE "Thank you!" to 2nd Grade Teacher, Leslie Binder who organized this awesome event! We had a great time, THANK YOU!

May Team Member of the Month- Nadege!!!!

This month's Team Member of the Month began her employment with a bang. She started just before our annual banquet and won one of the "big" prizes- a flat-screen TV!!!  Not everyone knew who she was and she was quickly informed that there was "No way she could quit now!". Well, Nadege has certainly held up her end of the bargain. 

Having just celebrating her 9th year at the HAH, Nadege is a true care giver. She primarily works in our Annex Kennel and is often seen giving extra TLC to our boarders. She is committed maintaining Kennel protocols and is always willing to help co-workers in and out of her department. 

Nadege is a shining star at the HAH and we are very proud to honor her as our May Team Member of the Month!

May Patients of the Month- Pitty Puppies!!!!

This month's Patient of the Month is Walter White, a 5 month old, tri colored pit-bull. But to tell Walter's story you need to hear the story of his brothers and sister as well. Walter was born one of 7 pups. His mom was brought to the HAH after her labor seemed to stop progressing and was seen by Dr. Carlos. Within minutes of seeing the doctor, the first pup was born, a beautiful fawn colored male with a blue mask. Mom returned home and successfully delivered 4 more puppies. Sadly the 6th was stillborn but momma went straight to caring for her babies as expected; cleaning and nurturing them.

Unfortunately, it became clear rather quickly that momma was suffering from mastitis and the pups were started on a bottle feeding regime. For the next four weeks they were bottle fed. The pups never nursed.

Eleven days after their birth, their owner came home and found the first born puppy in respiratory distress. She rushed him back to the HAH where he saw Dr. Lukens and immediately received oxygen therapy and was given a blood transfusion. Sadly, he rejected the blood and his condition quickly worsened. Because of the pup's symptoms and his rapid decline his doctor suspected an aggressive infection knows as babesia.

Babesia is an infection spread by ticks but can also be transmitted to dogs through blood transfusions, bite wounds and from mother's before birth. It is rare to see babesia in South Florida and difficult to diagnose in puppies.  In this case all of the pups and their mother, were tested to rule out this possibility and prepare for any other symptoms seen in the pups at home.Treatment continued for the first pup but he was not thriving. His owners made the difficult decision to euthanize. 

"Dr. Lukens was an absolute blessing. She was so understanding, informative and consoling. We thought the worst was over."

When the pups were about 5-6 weeks old, mom found Walter having trouble breathing as well.

“I thought it was happening all over again.” said mom.

She rushed him to hospital and his PCV (packed cell volume) was 7. Dr Lukens prepared the family for all the possibilities and immediately performed a blood transfusion. Walter stayed over night with 24 hour hospitalized care.

By this point, Dr. Lukens had received the earlier babesia tests back and while the momma pup and the first born pup were identified as positive for the disease the remaining four were not. This is unusual. Walter was suffering similar symptoms associated to babesia and the concern was that he had converted from a negative to a positive for the disease. Thankfully that was not the case and his diagnosis was determined to be hook worm anemia. Hookworm anemia is serious but treatable and after a blood transfusion and plenty of TLC, Walter was on the mend.

Today, all of the pups are thriving and the momma is being successfully treated as a babesia carrier. Walter and his brothers are regulars at the HAH; stopping in for their scheduled wellness checks.

The first few weeks were a bit harrowing for these little guys but today they are healthy and very happy dogs. We are pleased to share their story as our Patient(s) of the Month!

 ”I cannot thank Dr. Lukens and the staff enough for their expertise and amazing care of my baby boy. All four boys are happy and healthy. They're mother is a champion in the show ring and I can't wait to see Walter White follow in her footsteps."

11 Weeks

Pet Safety Tips for Memorial Day

Like many Americans, you may be planning a festive Memorial Day, complete with barbecue and fireworks. It’s important to remember, fireworks and dogs don't mix.

Unlike people, dogs won’t associate the noise, flashes, and burning smell of pyrotechnics with a celebration. Fireworks will often cause panic and anxiety in dogs. It’s important to remember that dogs panic at the sound of fireworks and flee into the night, often winding up lost, injured, or killed.

Here are a few tips to help keep your pet safe this Memorial Day.

1.    Keep your pet indoors at all times, if possible.

2.    Use Pet Friendly Repellent.

3.    Don’t give your pet table food.

Source: http://tiny.cc/4x14ex

Free Eye Exam Event at Stable Place

Here are photos of our Free Eye Exams for Service Animals we did at Stable Place, Inc on Friday. Stable Place is a non-profit organization, that dedicates changing the lives of their clients by Equine assistance with Psychotherapy Horses.  All three therapy animals, China, Paris and Lalo had a clean bill of health. You can visit http://stableplace.org/ for more information about service animals or LIKE them on Facebook today at https://www.facebook.com/StablePlaceInc.

They also have adorable barn cats!

This is China, a 15 year-old, Appaloosa. 

This is Paris, a 10 year-old, White Arab.

Paris getting a bite to eat. 

Here is an interesting fact about Lalo, he has a prosthetic eye.

Lalo

Here is Dr. Swinger examining Lalo. 

This is Lalo, Lalo, a 19 year-old, Tbred. 

They even have cute pigs roaming the grounds. 

Time for a "selfie"!

Leah with stable manager, Valerie.

Team Member of the Month- Caylin!!!!

Upon Caylin's returned to HAH three years ago she has slowing made herself indispensable. When her name is mentioned within departments it is immediately met with rave reviews and stories about what she has done for them.

She is trained to assist our Receptionists, Veterinary Assistants and Pharmacy team but fills in wherever she  is needed. Without a peep of hesitation or protest she quietly moves through each task; completing them with great care.

Caylin is exactly the type of employee that makes the HAH successful and we are pleased to be able to highlight her as our April Team Member of the Month!!! **




**With Caylin's proven reputation for being so capable it was tempting to let her write her own Team Member of the Month bio bit. While, she would probably have been more eloquent and comprehensive and timely-  we resisted!!!  Thank you for all you do, Caylin.

April- Patient of the Month- Kodiak

This month we recognize a patient that we truly fell in love with. Kodiak, a six year old, male Husky was seen by his regular veterinarian for difficulty breathing and  diagnosed with a Pneumothorax.

A Pneumothorax is characterized by the collection of air in the space around the lungs within the chest that interferes with the inflation of the lung lobes. The amount of air in Kodiak’s chest was increasing because of a leak in the tissue of his lung causing a tension pneumothorax. This condition is a medical emergency that can cause steadily worsening oxygen shortage and low blood pressure. Unless reversed this condition can progress and cause death.

The referring veterinarian immediately sent Kodiak to our hospital and he was admitted by Dr. Manasherov. A chest tube was placed by Dr. Sessa to remove the air around the lungs and immediate diagnostics were performed.

Pneumothoraces can be caused by physical trauma to the chest and often require surgery to repair however, spontaneous pneumothoraces can also occur for a variety of reason and  typically resolve with only medical treatment and monitoring. Siberian Huskies are believed to be more susceptible to these kinds of spontaneous pneumothoraces because of their large, deep chests and this appeared to be the case with Kodiak.

For two days, Kodiak was hospitalized and the air was constantly removed from his chest to ideally allow the leak to heal. However, that did not occur. X-rays did not show signs of healing, location or cause of the leak. Kodiak was getting worse. Surgery was the only other option and Dr. Bibevski and Dr. Mansherov took Kodiak in on a Tuesday.

Dr. Bibevski and Dr. Manasherov performed a mediastinotomy. By cutting into the center of the chest  they were able to view and evaluate both sides of the lungs to search out the leak. By placing  water in the lungs and stimulating breathing, bubbling was seen at the leak site. (see video below). The damaged lung lobe was identified and removed.

Kodiak was hospitalized for only two days after this open chest surgery before he was breathing well and ready to go home. Today, Kodiak is better then ever. He made a 100% recovery and is back to playing along side his owner.

Kodiak was only hospitalized for six days but they were intense. He became a much loved patient not only because of his constant medical supervision but because of his incredible personality. He is a great and loving dog.

We have waited a while to highlight this fellow so we are so pleased to be able to recognize him as our Patient of this Month!!!